Author's notes: Love the anime - never read the manga. Love the characters. Thought I'd write a completely different story with these characters. MEANING THIS IS AU.

As far as pairings go, I haven't really decided yet so I guess everyone will be in play for a while and we'll see how it goes. Hehe :)

This prologue is probably boring, but I need to set up the necessary info for you to enjoy the story and any sequels to it. Let me know what you think in the Reviews, though please keep it constructive and civil. Much appreciated. Enjoy!

Prince of Dragons: Empire of the Sun

Prologue

Nobody could have predicted that the mountainous and industrial country of Joya would give birth to the powerful Empire of the Sun, a name that would forever be known in the histories as the greatest empire that earthland had ever seen. Nobody could have foreseen that any of the monarchies of the time would dare advance to that next stage, that pinnacle of authoritarianism. And nobody could have believed that the meteoric rise in power of one Zeref Black would lead to the establishment of this Empire of the Sun, a man with dark magic so powerful that many considered him to be a demon lord.

Awash in wealth and titans of industry, the Kingdom of Joya was in truth the perfect breeding ground for an Imperial movement. What do you give a country that has it all? A goal to spread that wealth, knowledge, and way of life to all corners of the earthland, and a plan to do so. Zeref Black gave them that ideal, that goal to strive for, and he provided them with a plan to accomplish it.

With their familiarity and acceptance of Monarchic government, the transition to an Empire was not too wide a gap to bridge. With their vast wealth and impressive industrial complex, the Joyans had no trouble raising, supplying, and supporting a massive army with which to expand their way of life to those less enlightened and less fortunate. And with their visionary, fearless leader they sought to conquer the earthland.

It took the Empire a mere three days to subjugate the country of Stella, in what became known as the Stellan Blitz. Six months later and the sparsely populated Desierto Kingdom was the next to join the Empire. It took two and a half years to gain full control over the vast country of Minstrel. And in that time, the military had grown large enough to support battling on two fronts, capturing the Iceberg Kingdom and the Seven Kingdom Coalition in the time it took to subjugate Minstrel.

Alarmed at the sudden and violent rise of this Empire of the Sun, the eastern Kingdoms of Pergrande, Bellum, Sin, and Enca formed the Pergrande Alliance (or simply "the Alliance") to better protect themselves and to offset the growing power of the Empire. This alliance, along with the fact that the bulk of Imperial forces were concentrated elsewhere, has kept the eastern kingdoms in relative safety and peace.

Emperor Zeref even agreed to a peace treaty with the Alliance, stating that it was in all their interests to maintain peace and encourage trade in the region. A peace treaty was also signed with the Kingdoms of Fiore, long known to be forever neutral in all earthland matters, and Caelum, a vast Island nation notorious for never having ever been conquered by an outside foe in all its history.

But when the forest-filled country of Bosco fell, bringing the Empire's borders right to Fiore, even the Royal Family of Fiore feared that the peace treaty might not stop the powerful and power-hungry Empire that was now at their doorstep.

The Empire of the Sun, led by Emperor Zeref and, to some extent, his wife Empress Shina, was strictly organized into three branches of government. The Executive, Judiciary, and Military branches.

EXECUTIVE

The Executive Branch contains the administrative and policing entities of the Empire, headed by the Chancellor, Erwin Varis, who is appointed personally by and reports only to the Emperor, and who works with the Imperial Council to run the day-to-day business of the Empire. The Chancellor has some freedom in directing Imperial policy and setting up laws, and reports directly to the Emperor on the state of the Empire.

The Imperial Council consists, at this time, of 15 members, all of whom are from the most powerful and influential families in the Empire. They have limited policy-making and law-making ability, serving mostly an advisory role to the Chancellor, and are able to keep the Chancellor in check by a 2/3 majority vote. A 2/3 majority decision on a matter may also be presented directly to the Emperor for ultimate judgment, bypassing the Chancellor completely.

And lastly, the Imperial Police handles all law enforcement matters in the Empire, with each state getting their own State Police that is subordinate to the overarching Imperial Police. The Imperial Chief of Police, Reginald Amerrie, is the leader of this police force and is appointed by and reports directly to the Chancellor.

JUDICIARY

Led by the Chief Justicar, Stenos Sivantes, who is appointed directly by and reports only to the Emperor, the Judiciary handles all matters of Imperial justice, intelligence and special operations. There is one Justicar for every state, and when necessary the Supreme Court will convene for a major trial that involves all the Justicars being present.

A Justicar is usually promoted from the ranks of the Judges, who are essentially the officers of the Judiciary. These Judges are individuals who have distinguished themselves in the field of duty and who have the knowledge and skills to pursue higher responsibilities. Judicial Sergeants are the foot soldiers of the Judiciary and are of lowest rank.

So rank-wise:
Chief Justicar
Justicar
Judge (First, Second, and Third Class, with the 1st class being the most senior)
Judicial Sergeant

MILITARY

Arguably the most powerful of the three branches, it is also the one directly controlled by the Emperor. Their duties are fairly obvious: handling all military actions as well as special weapons projects. Led by the Minister of War, Faust Fernandes, who is appointed directly by and reports only to the Emperor, the Military has six defined army divisions, each division led by a General, with each General having their own corps of officers under their command.

The War Council consists of all Generals and the Minister, and possibly the Emperor if he wishes to be present. There are six Armies, designated by their location and reflecting their respective jurisdictions:

Expeditionary Army - General Byro; handles all expansion/invasion campaigns and has no set jurisdiction. Most active position.
Central Army - General Knightwalker; jurisdiction over Joya and immediate area surrounding the capital state. Most prestigious position. (arguably most boring) [Stella, Joya]
Northern Army - General Panther; responsible for maintaining the peace in the newly acquired northern states. [Western Iceberg, Seven, Bosco]
Eastern Army - General Edolas; responsible for watching over the Alliance. [Eastern Iceberg, Eastern Desierto]
Southern Army - General Sugarboy; responsible for maintaining the peace in Minstrel's eastern half (Duchy of Midi was absorbed into Minstrel) [Eastern Minstrel, Western Desierto]
Western Army - General Hughes; responsible for maintaining the peace in Minstrel's western half. [Western Minstrel]

LET THE STORY BEGIN!

Author's notes:

PLEASE NOTE! Erza will not be present as much in this story, but she will feature heavily in the sequel, which I'm already working the outline of. Yes, this is how enthused I am right now about Fairy Tail - I already have the next story in mind as I'm writing this one! Although I MIGHT just turn it into one giant story. I haven't decided yet.